Devin Desktop 3.11: Power-User Guide to the New Agent Window and Devin Local

Last updated: November 1, 2026

Devin Desktop 3.11, Cognition’s editor formerly called Windsurf, rebuilt the Agent Window on October 23, 2026 to match the Devin web app. You can view up to eight sessions side by side, review local changes, open session terminals and preview cloud apps. Several editor defaults also changed.

Contents

What’s new in Devin Desktop 3.11

The Devin Desktop changelog lists five 3.11 releases between October 23 and October 30, 2026. Version 3.11.212 carries the main changes.

Version Date Main changes
3.11.212 October 23, 2026 New Agent Window, session layout, Files and Changes views, new shortcuts, changed defaults, Dev Containers support
3.11.216 October 24, 2026 Install Devin CLI works in a new Windows terminal without signing out; local sessions survive inline terminal images
3.11.228 October 26, 2026 IDE mode offers Devin Cloud whenever your account has Cloud access; Remote-SSH and Remote-WSL folder fixes
3.11.231 and 3.11.234 October 28 and 29, 2026 Approval buttons shown consistently, lower memory use and multi-select questions restored in Devin Local
3.11.238 October 30, 2026 Members listed for Anthropic’s Cyber Verification Program can switch it on or off from the Devin Local model picker

The new Agent Window

The Agent Window now runs the same interface as the Devin web app at app.devin.ai. That includes the sessions sidebar, the session view, Automations, Review, Wiki, settings and the Command Palette, and it follows your Devin Desktop theme.

Sessions. You can drag a session from the sidebar onto an open session to view up to eight side by side. Sessions can be grouped by workspace. You can start a child session from any session’s More menu, and sessions grouped into Spaces appear under a parent session.

Files, changes and terminals. A Files view shows a local session’s working directory, or a cloud session’s machine, as a file tree. The Changes tab now works for local sessions, with per-file diffs and a “Since last seen” scope. Choosing Terminal from a session’s add-tab menu opens a shell on that session’s machine or in its folder.

Cloud sessions. The IDE button opens a Remote SSH window on the session’s machine. App previews open in a Preview tab with a URL bar, port switching, device sizes and an element picker.

Other additions include @-mentions for configured MCP servers, a command palette that searches the content of local sessions. Dev Containers now run lifecycle commands such as postCreateCommand from devcontainer.json.

How to start using Devin Desktop 3.11

  1. Update to 3.11.212 or later. Cognition’s Devin Desktop FAQ treats every release except the latest as deprecated, so install the newest build (3.11.238 at the time of writing).
  2. Confirm Devin Local is your agent. If it is missing from the agent selector, open the Command Palette, choose Devin User Settings, open the Agents tab, turn on Devin Local and restart.
  3. Open the Agent Window and start a session from the plus button on a workspace group in the sidebar.
  4. Drag a second session onto the first to compare work side by side.
  5. Open the Changes tab and choose the “Since last seen” scope to review only what the agent changed since your last look.
  6. Press Cmd/Ctrl+. to cycle the agent mode, and mark finished work with Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+E.

The Devin Local steps come from the Devin Local overview. On Enterprise plans, an admin must turn on the Devin Local Agent team setting first. On Team and other non-enterprise plans it is on by default.

New keyboard shortcuts

Shortcut What it does
Cmd/Ctrl+. Cycles the agent mode
Cmd/Ctrl+[ and Cmd/Ctrl+] Go back and forward
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+L Copies a link to the session
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+E Marks a session done
Cmd/Ctrl+O Opens a local file in the Agent Window
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+F Searches the text of the session’s files
Cmd/Ctrl+L Quotes selected code into the chat
Enter, or Cmd/Ctrl+Enter Enter steers the running turn; Cmd/Ctrl+Enter queues the message until the turn ends

Changed defaults: old versus new

Version 3.11.212 changed how agent edits behave in the editor. Each change can be reversed in settings.

Behavior Before 3.11 From 3.11.212 How to restore
Opening edited files Devin opened files in the background as it edited them Files are not opened Devin Settings, Editor, User Interface, Auto-open edited files
Agent diff zones On Off; edits are applied directly to files Same menu, Agent diff zones
Save actions on agent edits Format-on-save and code actions ran Agent edits are saved without them Turn on Run save actions on agent edits
Worktree cleanup Deleted automatically above 19 worktrees per repository No longer deleted automatically Remove old worktrees yourself

Plugins can now declare platforms: [cloud] or platforms: [local], and Devin Desktop activates only the plugins that apply locally.

Devin Local modes

The cycle-mode shortcut moves between the five modes in the Devin Local modes documentation:

  • Code: the default. Edits inside the workspace are auto-approved; shell commands, web fetches and MCP tools ask unless an allow rule covers them.
  • Smart: like Code, plus a fast model that approves other actions it judges safe. Package installs, mutating git, rm, sudo and sensitive files always ask. It is rolling out gradually.
  • Ask: read-only questions and exploration.
  • Plan: explores read-only and writes a plan file to ~/.devin/plans/ for your approval.
  • Bypass Permissions: approves all tool calls, but never overrides admin-enforced deny and ask rules.

Smart mode is similar to Kiro’s classifier option in our Kiro auto approve guide. For another terminal agent, see our Claude Code power-user guide.

Plan availability and pricing

According to Cognition’s self-serve plans page, Devin Desktop usage shares a quota with Devin sessions and the Devin CLI:

Plan Price Devin Desktop
Free Free Limited Devin usage
Pro $20 per month Included in the daily and weekly quota
Max $200 per month Included in a larger weekly quota with no daily cap
Teams full seat $40 per seat per month ($80 monthly minimum) Included
Teams flex seat No fixed charge Not included

Usage beyond the quota draws on prepaid on-demand credits, which roll over. If you have an eligible ChatGPT Go, Plus or Pro subscription, GPT model usage can be billed to that plan instead.

Practical workflows and limitations

  • Parallel review: run a local session and a cloud session on the same task, view them side by side, and compare their Changes tabs before you merge.
  • Steer, do not restart: when an agent drifts, press Enter with a correction instead of stopping the turn; queue follow-up requests with Cmd/Ctrl+Enter.
  • Restore formatting: if you rely on format-on-save, turn on Run save actions on agent edits.

Limitations: the changelog does not publish model limits or new prices for this release, and Smart mode may not appear yet in your mode selector. Agents are unavailable in workspaces opened in Restricted Mode. For other agent tools updated this month, see our guides to the Cursor Agent SDK, Codex CLI 0.166 and Copilot Automations.

Frequently asked questions

What is new in Devin Desktop 3.11?

Version 3.11.212, released October 23, 2026, rebuilt the Agent Window to match the Devin web app. It adds side-by-side sessions, Files and Changes views for local sessions, session terminals, cloud app previews and new keyboard shortcuts.

Is Devin Desktop the same as Windsurf?

Yes. Cognition’s documentation describes the Devin Desktop changelog as release notes for every Devin Desktop (Windsurf) stable release, and its FAQ covers the transition from Windsurf to Devin Desktop.

How many sessions can I view at once in Devin Desktop?

Up to eight. Drag a session from the sidebar onto an open session to view them side by side in the Agent Window.

How do I steer Devin while it is working?

Press Enter to steer the running turn. Press Cmd+Enter on macOS or Ctrl+Enter on Windows and Linux to queue the message until the turn ends.

Why does Devin Desktop no longer open files it edits?

Version 3.11.212 turned that behavior off. Turn Auto-open edited files back on in Devin Settings, Editor, User Interface.

Which Devin plans include Devin Desktop?

Pro ($20 a month), Max ($200 a month) and Teams full seats ($40 a month each) include Devin Desktop usage. Teams flex seats do not include Devin Desktop access.

Sources

Image: Cognition AI logo by Cognition AI, Inc., public domain, via Wikimedia Commons. Placed on a white background and resized. FreeAnswers is not affiliated with Cognition.

Related guide: Junie Eco Mode guide: Eco, Junie Lite and Junie Local.

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